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CATS PROTECTION – NORWICH & DISTRICT BRANCH SPRING ISSUE 2015 CATS PROTECTION NORWICH & DISTRICT BRANCH A quick look at what’s inside HELPING CATS IN NEED Page Jonathan Newman along with colleagues presented the cheque to our fosterer, Karen A lexander in memory of Lorna. Lorna’s Collection A cheque for £400 was presented to the Norwich and District branch of Cats Protection in memory of Lorna McCarthy who tragically died in September last year. Born in Birmingham and brought up in Sheffield, Lorna had lived in Gorleston for the last 15 years. At the time of her death Lorna had six cats and Cats Protection volunteers helped care for a number of them whilst new homes were found. All six cats were re-­‐homed with family members and friends of Lorna. The donation was made as a result of collections held at Lorna’s funeral in Sheffield and at a memorial service held for her in Great Yarmouth last November. By Jonathan Newman Note from the Editor 2 SAPPHIRE –A tale before and after 3 Rachel’s Collection 4 HARVEY 4 GORDON 5 ALSO… Fostering Looking for a new home Note from the treasurer Meow Mansion Cats re-­‐homed It’s Kitten Time Again! I had received a call in March to say our first litter of kittens had been born in a back garden, in an area where we had already taken over 30 kittens in the past year, all of which had been born outdoors. The situation is complicated as the owner of the garden has moved into a nursing home and my heart sank as I considered the possibility of having to start all over again. If we cannot bring these kittens in before they become feral, we will be back to square one. Registered Charity no. 203644 I am pleased to say all of the previous kittens have been rehomed and they are now enjoying their new lives. We strongly advise all owners to have their cats neutered from the age of 4 months if they are not required for breeding purposes. During 2014 we rehomed an incredible 140 cats and Janice issued 625 Neutering Vouchers, both are new records for our branch. By Maureen Bennett www.norwich.cats.org.uk CATS PROTECTION – NORWICH & DISTRICT BRANCH SPRING ISSUE 2015 Note from the Editor I hope you will enjoy this issue of the Norwich & District Cats Protection News Letter, and remember you can now visit your local Cats Protection face book page at “Cats Protection Norwich & District”. Here you will be able to read Alice Ridge-­‐Ward’s message. Alice, the Granddaughter of Cathy Butcher, our Fundraising Team Leader is currently living in France, fostering for SPA (French Society for the Protection of Animals). On a sad note, Harvey who we featured in the Spring 2014 issue sadly past away, our thoughts are with Helen Bell, his owner, who is one of our volunteers. The branch continues to be extremely grateful for all your continued support and although we are very fortunate to have some great volunteers, we are always looking for more. If you know anyone that would like to become a volunteer, please contact them via the website: www.norwich.cats.org.uk or telephone on 0845 494 1900. Our third moggie was called JANIE. After we had lost Hannah so soon after Jessie, we knew that although we could not live without a furry friend, we could not go through the pain of losing another one, so when we visited CPL, our thoughts turned to a slightly younger cat. Janie had been rescued along with a lot of feral cats from a farm and although she was not feral herself, she had quite a few ‘war wounds’ to say the least. One ear had been ‘battle-­‐torn’ and was smaller in size, and when she smiled, her top canines would simply glare at you, a bit like ‘Scratchy’ from the Simpsons. Like most Tortoiseshells, her stare, under lowered eyelids, would have you cowering at her every command, we knew instantly we were going to be hers. Janie’s 1st Xmas She didn’t really like other cats, and would stalk them from the safety of her own windowsill. Her tail would bush up to twice its size just at the sight of a cat shadow. She loved life in ‘her’ garden and would sit and sunbathe whenever and wherever she could, usually with eyes firmly shut. She would often be found in the mornings curled up in the nook of my arm, having left ‘teeth’ marks just as a reminder she’d been there. When she played, she would puff her cheeks up, showing her fangs, which just made you smile every time. Unfortunately, Janie suffered from Harvest mites and we would have to regularly stop her from scratching, we even had to bathe her on a few occasions, which you may think would be a nightmare, but she just took it in her stride with no fuss. She went through quite a few different collars in the beginning until we tried a soft leather one, which seemed to reduce her scratching. Sadly, Janie developed two tumours, which after seeking our vets advice, were removed successfully and gave Janie a further happy eight months. However, on a regular check up, further tumours were found and we took the very painful decision to give Janie a peaceful goodbye. By Karen Blyth Registered Charity no. 203644 www.norwich.cats.org.uk 2 CATS PROTECTION – NORWICH & DISTRICT BRANCH SPRING ISSUE 2015 SAPPHIRE – A tale before and after This is Sapphire and as you can see she is the most beautiful silver tabby. Unfortunately as soon as she was brought in to us for rehoming, Sapphire became very vicious, to the point where we were afraid to touch her. This made it very difficult to rehome Sapphire, but Amanda who had visited her was not fazed by this and was willing to give Sapphire another chance. No sooner had she entered Amanda’s home she become a reformed character. Sapphire waiting to be rehomed This, if proof was ever needed you cannot judge a cat’s temperament whilst it is in a fostering pen, she was simply very unhappy. Her new owner, Amanda Giles sent these pictures of Sapphire and said, “She really has become a lovely companion. At the moment she's asleep, curled up in my basket of freshly ironed pillowcases!” As you can see, Sapphire looks very much at home now. By Maureen Bennett Registered Charity no. 203644 www.norwich.cats.org.uk 3 CATS PROTECTION – NORWICH & DISTRICT BRANCH SPRING ISSUE 2015 RACHEL’S COLLECTION Rachel Roger from Coronation Crescent in Hempnall carried out a food and “cat related” item collection for the Norwich and District Branch leading up to Christmas. The collection of ‘goodies’ was worth about £120 and she had also collected £55. The collection was shared between Cats Protection and a local Dog Rescue charity. Many thanks Rachel and well done! Rachel Roger with cat Murphy, presenting £55 along with lots of goodies to our fosterer, Kathy Bates HARVEY This is Harvey, a little semi-­‐feral kitten. He was brought in to our fosterer Karen at only ten weeks old. He needed lots of time and patience, all of which Karen provided and he was with us for many weeks until we felt he was ready for rehoming. Harvey was about eight month’s old, when he was put on our website. He loved being stroked and although he was still scared, he did not bite and with the right home, we knew he would come on in leaps and bounds. A lady with lots of experience with nervous cats saw him on our website and fell in love with him. After Janice had carried out a home visit, Harvey left us for his new home. Sometimes, just when you feel everything has been considered when finding a new home, something can still go wrong, and unfortunately it did. Harvey had managed to find a little hiding place behind his new owners gas fire, which was just out of reach. He had been hiding in there for two days and we had begun to put a rescue plan in place, when thankfully (probably due to hunger and thirst) he decided to come out on his own accord. By Maureen Bennett Registered Charity no. 203644 www.norwich.cats.org.uk 4 1
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CATS PROTECTION – NORWICH & DISTRICT BRANCH SPRING ISSUE 2015 GORDON Poor George (now Gordon) had made his home on an allotment after his owners had moved away leaving him behind. Here he would meet and greet all the ‘cat loving’ gardeners who spent time there, one lady in particular loved him so much that she took him home. Unfortunately her cats did not accept him, but she couldn’t bear to take him back to the allotments without any shelter from the winter weather, so decided she would buy him his own wooden shed. Gordon loved his little apartment, which was filled with lots of warm bedding and was being fed only the best. He was such a beautiful and affectionate boy, but this still wasn’t good enough, so she contacted us and asked if we could help. Needless to say as soon as Gordon was shown on our website he generated lots of interest and he is now being thoroughly spoilt with his new family, John, Thelma and Rachel Hope. They told us “We called him Gordon because we had already had a ginger tom called George. He is a sweetie -­‐ spends most of his time next door with us, but still has time with daughter Rachel. He is a fussy eater, but has his own stock of chicken in the freezer, and snoozes on his own duvet next to the radiator. We have never had such a loving and intelligent cat -­‐ just say, "cuddle time" and he jumps on to the sofa next to one or other of us. He has his own toys too, but now the weather is better finds things in the garden more interesting. (Gates and fences are wired over to keep him in the back). Rachel says she is very glad she emailed CPL when she saw Gordon's photo on the website.” By John, Thelma and Rachel Hope CAT TREATS Does your cat have a favourite snack? We thought this might take the prize for the most unusual. A cat was recently brought in for adoption and their previous owner made it quite clear what her cat’s favourite treats were. Milkshakes were overall favourite, but not just any flavour, it had to be either Banana or Strawberry. Pot Noodles came second, but only Chicken and Mushroom flavour would suffice Thirdly, cheesy “WOTSITS” and at the very bottom of the list came “Whiskas” which he would sometimes be tempted with, but only if it was Lamb in gravy and with biscuits. Registered Charity no. 203644 www.norwich.cats.org.uk 5 CATS PROTECTION – NORWICH & DISTRICT BRANCH SPRING ISSUE 2015 FOSTERING – Can you Help? Would you or anyone you know like to become a Cat Fosterer? For this role you would need to be a real cat lover and you would need a space in your garden large enough for a pen. The pen is approx. 12 feet long by 6 feet wide. This is a very rewarding role and we would cover all expenses. Please ring 0845 494 1900 (option 1) to speak to Maureen or complete the form on the Norwich & District Cats Protection Website. Looking for a home: Mimsy, Socks and Baby, Rosie and Tootsie are all looking for new homes and although we hope by the time you read this, homes may have been found, please do get in touch if you would like to give any of these feline beauties or any others on the website a new and loving home. All cats are vet-­‐checked, spayed, treated for fleas and worms, vaccinated, and microchipped before adoption. MIMSY is a beautiful five-­‐year-­‐old brown tabby. She is very affectionate and sweet, and is happy to spend time indoors with her family, but would also like to have outdoor access. She would be best suited to a quiet household without small children or other animals. SOCKS and BABY are four-­‐year-­‐old siblings with matching black coats and white bibs and paws. Baby, a female, is very petite, talkative, and full of energy and confidence; Socks, her brother, is a little shyer, but once he gets to know you, he is very lovable, and enjoys a good cuddle. Socks and Baby are good with children, and would probably do well with other cats or a quiet, cat-­‐friendly dog. We would like to rehome Socks and Baby together, as they have not been separated, and their personalities complement each other nicely. ROSIE is a lovely young light grey tabby female who came to us after living as a stray for some time. We do not know her history, but estimate her age as between two and three years. She is very affectionate, confident and friendly, so she could probably live with another cat, a cat-­‐friendly dog, or older children. TOOTSIE is a very friendly five-­‐year-­‐old cat with a petite frame, and a sleek black coat with a small white tuft on her chest. She is outgoing and confident, and loves to be made a fuss of. Tootsie has lived with an adult family all her life, without other pets or children, so we are not sure how she would do with company; she is also used to living with restricted outdoor access and uses a litter tray. Registered Charity no. 203644 www.norwich.cats.org.uk 6 CATS PROTECTION – NORWICH & DISTRICT BRANCH SPRING ISSUE 2015 A note from the Treasurer: Noted: In the financial/calendar year 2013, the Branch had an income of approx. £33,500 and expenditure of approx. £31,000 (the £2,500 surplus partially offsetting 2012’s £3,000 shortfall). I also noted “In this current (2014) financial year, whilst things are still tough, we anticipate income and expenditure to be much the same, (but hopefully with less transfer from Reserves?)”. The 2014 financial year income actually turned out much as predicted, at £33,300, but expenditure was substantially lower than predicted at £28,400 (no new cat pen purchased as in 2013). The income comprised of £10,600 in Grants from ‘NCC’ (up from £6,000); £12,300 in Branch Fund raising (up from £9,000); £5,800 in Donations etc. (up from £5,000) and £4,600 in Adoption Fees (up from £3,000) and with NO transfer from Accumulated Reserves (down from £10,500). The expenditure comprised of £15,200 in Neutering costs (up from £15,000); £9,500 in Fostering and Vet costs (down from £13,000); £2,800 for phones, postage, etc. (up from £2,500) and £900 in sundry other costs (up from £500). So the Branch was able to continue to expand its activities, without recourse to Accumulated Reserves and was even able to carry £4,900 into Reserve against future contingencies. Great credit is due for this improvement in our fortunes to all those who give of their time in promoting, each in their own way, the welfare of local cats. MEOW MANSION During er: the Xmas period, there was an amazing sight in the window of the Norwich Cats Protection Shop in Plumstead Road. It was a massive Gingerbread House and was home to Kitty and Boots and their 65 kittens. It was called “Meow Mansion” and was the creation of Ms. Kazz Morohashi, who studies MA Communication Design at Norwich University of the Arts. Ms. Morohashi worked in collaboration with Cathy Butcher and Norwich Cats Protection on the art project, which aims to encourage more people to support a happy, healthy population of cats by neutering and rescuing cats in need of attention. Sales of an accompanying book about Kitty and Boots will also raise funds for Cats Protection. Registered Charity no. 203644 www.norwich.cats.org.uk 7 CATS PROTECTION – NORWICH & DISTRICT BRANCH SPRING ISSUE 2015 Here are some of the cats that have been rehomed since our last Newsletter: Kato
Spud and Deiva
Ash
Bessie
Bella
Gracie
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